it exceeds one-third.

This ruling applies when the entire estate consists of cash. If, however, the estate contains both cash and merchandise, the beneficiary is entitled to one-third of the merchandise and to whichever is greater—either one-third of the cash or the named amount—so long as nothing of this surpasses one-third of the whole.

If a testator bequeaths a specific item—such as a house, a slave, an animal, or a garment—to one man, and later bequeaths that exact item to another man without explicitly stating that he is revoking the first bequest, the item is divided equally between the two.

Should he leave one man one hundred and another fifty, and then say to a third: “I bequeath to you the like of one of the two bequests,” without specifying which, two reports exist. According to the first, the third legatee receives half of the first amount and half of the second; according to the second, he receives the full amount of the latter (fifty) and nothing of the former. Ashhab held that he should be given the lesser of the two sums, for that is certain, whereas anything beyond it is conjecture.

The bequest of a spendthrift, of an unmarried woman, and of a child who understands what he is giving is valid, as is the bequest of a madman made during a lucid interval. The bequest of a person killed unintentionally with respect to his blood-money is also valid, and the one-third restriction does not apply to it.

When a pregnant woman has completed six months, she may not dispose of her property beyond the limit allowed to a patient suffering from a confirmed terminal illness—namely, one-third—whether she is married or not. Malik and his companions are unanimous on this, as he recorded in his Muwattaʾ.

Some scholars of Medina, however, hold that a pregnant woman’s transactions remain valid until the onset of labour or post-partum bleeding harms her; from that point onward she is limited, like one in fear of death, to one-third of her estate.

Whoever is overtaken by fear to the point that despair outweighs hope—such as a soldier crawling between the opposing lines, someone on the verge of drowning, or a person surrounded by highwaymen known for killing, or by ferocious beasts—may not dispose of more than one-third of his wealth.

By contrast, a leper, a paralytic, a sufferer of leukoderma, or anyone with a chronic illness with which he can live is treated in his financial dealings like a healthy person—unless some sudden development arises.